Think this is young adult - middle school - genre, so not sure how it got on my list, but well worth it. Not allowed to complain, parents divorcing, staying with grandparents, learning about neighbors. I learned much about Japanese-American family culture and especially about the tradition of 1001 Cranes. Read in 2011 ( )

This story is about an Asian girl named Angela after Angela Davis who goes to live with her grandmother and aunt while her parents are getting divorced. Through being given the responsibility of working for the family business making crane displays for weddings, she learns to become more independent and accept change and the "loss" of the nuclear family unit, and learns about different models of family. SERIOUSLY liked this book! Also deals with boy problems without making them central.

Twelve-year old Angie, a Japanese-American, is forced to spend the summer with her grandparents in LA while her parents work through their divorce. While there, she learns more about her heritage, lessons about family, gets her first boyfriend, and folds paper cranes for weddings. ( )

Wikipedia in English

WHEN 12-YEAR-OLD ANGELA Kato arrives in L.A., the last thing she wants to do is spend the entire summer with her grandparents. But in the Kato family, one is never permitted to complain. Grandma Michi and Aunt Janet put Angela to work in their flower shop, folding origami and creating 1001 crane displays for newlyweds. At first, Angela learns the trade begrudgingly. But when her folding skills improve and her relationships with family and friends grow, Angela is able to cope with her troubles, especially her parents’ impending divorce.

With her parents on the verge of separating, a devastated twelve-year-old Japanese American girl spends the summer in Los Angeles with her grandparents, where she folds paper cranes into wedding displays, becomes involved with a young skateboarder, and learns how complicated relationships can be.… (more)